NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- Negotiations for a new union contract for 2,000 commercial office cleaners in the Hudson Valley began today between Local 32BJ and representatives from several cleaning contractors, including OneSource, American Building Maintenance (ABM) and A&A Maintenance. Local 32BJ members clean more than 125 buildings throughout Westchester and surrounding counties, including the majority of large office buildings in downtown White Plains.

“Hudson Valley’s hard-working office cleaners should receive the raises and health care coverage they need to support their families in one of the most expensive areas in the country,” said Shirley Aldebol, Local 32BJ Hudson Valley Director. “With rising rents, the Hudson Valley real estate industry can afford to provide raises and benefits to the workers who keep its office buildings running.”

Local 32BJ members in the Hudson Valley are fighting for a wage increase and fully employerpaid health insurance for all members. Increasing the minimum number of working hours per shift is also a priority.

Failure to reach a new contract by 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2008, when the current contract expires, could lead to a strike by 2,000 property service workers at over 125 buildings throughout the Hudson Valley, including the Centroplex, Morgan Stanley Building and the Gateway Building in White Plains and other office buildings in Tarrytown, New Rochelle, and Yonkers.

“I run from a morning job to an evening job just so I can put food on the table for my family,” said Marcelino Garcia, an office cleaner in downtown White Plains. “Working more hours at one job that provides a livable wage and health benefits would give me more time and energy to spend with my children.”

The Hudson Valley is one of six Local 32BJ districts in the northeast to negotiate a new commercial contract this fall. Most of the contracts - which cover nearly 50,000 commercial members from Hartford, CT to Washington, DC - are set to expire on December 31, 2007. Currently, more than 150,000 people - workers and their family members - receive health care through 32BJ commercial contracts.

As a region, the Hudson Valley has increasingly become an attractive alternative to businesses that have found themselves priced out of Manhattan. Cushman & Wakefield now consider downtown White Plains to have evolved from a suburban market of Manhattan to a “Manhattan submarket." According to the journal Northeast Real Estate Business, this demand has pushed Class A rents up 15 percent since last year, with Class B and C rates on a similar rise. At the same time, vacancy rates have also been declining, dropping two percent over the past year.

“Many businesses formerly operating in downtown Manhattan now call the Hudson Valley their new home,” said Mike Fishman, Local 32BJ President. “Office cleaners here should have familysustaining wages and benefits comparable to the members in New York City.”

With more than 85,000 members in six states and Washington, DC, including more than 4,500 in the Hudson Valley, Local 32BJ is the
largest property services union in the country.